Press Release

Growing Deficit Shows Need for Fiscal Discipline

(Washington, DC) – According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the federal budget deficit for 2016 will be $56 billion more than previously projected, climbing to $590 billion by the end of the year. This marks a sharp increase from last fiscal year when the deficit fell to $439 billion. Outlays for the first 10 months of this fiscal year was 2 percent higher (or $55 billion more) than at the same time last year. This is the highest annual budget deficit in three years, and it comes as deficits are set to rise in the years ahead.

Daniel Garza, Executive Director of The LIBRE Initiative, released the following statement:

“Policymakers have long known that if government spending continues to increase, we are risking the bankrupting of America. Yet too many of our elected leaders choose to play politics with our budget instead of safeguarding our financial future. Recently The LIBRE Initiative and other like-minded organizations announced the “Stop, Cut, & Fix,” proposal, which would force Washington to stick to the bipartisan spending caps passed just a few years ago, while enacting a long-term appropriations bill to stop the disastrous habit of budgeting by crisis. Congress should not keep relying on all-inclusive spending bills that hold vital services hostage for the benefit of ever expanding government largesse. With Stop, Cut, & Fix, lawmakers and the president would lock in fiscal discipline and ensure an end to crisis budgeting.”

For Interviews with a representative from The LIBRE Initiative, please contact Brian Faughnan, 703-678-4581